Today, the Ministry of Economy and Labour, the Hon Jason Hayward, JP, MP, released the 2023 Q1 Balance of Payments & International Investment Position publication.
The Minister explained, “Bermuda’s trade with non-residents resulted in a $309 million surplus for the first quarter of 2023, down $45 million from a year ago.
“Transactions related to trade in goods led to a wider deficit on the goods account, increasing by $2 million to $285 million. Higher imports were associated mainly with the miscellaneous, finished equipment and food, beverages and tobacco commodity groups.
Minister Hayward added, “Services transactions realised a surplus of $76 million, narrowing $2 million year-over-year. The decrease in the surplus balance reflected decreases in the accounting, auditing, bookkeeping, and tax consulting services account balance. The surplus on Bermuda’s primary income account fell by $43 million to $564 million, due mainly to a decrease in investment income.
The Minister continued, “Bermuda’s trade in financial assets and liabilities with the rest of the world resulted in a net international investment position of $3.8 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2023. This balance decreased by $554 million over the fourth quarter of 2022 due to decreased assets of portfolio investments, specifically debt securities which were greater than the decrease in liabilities. Two of the four institutional sectors recorded positive balances on their net international investment positions at the end of the first quarter. Specifically, financial corporations recorded a balance of $6.4 billion, and non-profit institutions recorded a balance of $26 million. In contrast, non-financial corporations recorded a deficit balance of $2.2 billion. While the government sector recorded a deficit balance of $458 million due to a decline in other investment assets.”
The 2023 Q1 Balance of Payments & International Investment Position publication is available online at https://www.gov.bm/balance-payments. The public is advised to read the definitions and notes on the last two pages of the publication before reviewing the data.